SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS

I was a good mother when my girls were young. I will have to pat myself on the back on this one because I was a genus! It was in the days of VHS recordings and I would get up very early on Saturday mornings and quietly slip a tape into the machine to record the Saturday morning cartoons for my kids so they could sleep late. How many of you can say you went this far?

Actually, it was probably more for my sanity than for their comfort. I could go back to bed and get a few extra winks I thought I well deserved and later in the day there were cartoons to keep them occupied. If I was smart I would have set the VCR to record and not interrupt my slumber having to turn it on manually. I never did learn how to work that machine properly, but did anybody? I never said I was smart – just a genius!

The old reliable VCR

With four little girls there was a lot of chaos and bickering. We lived in the country with no cable TV, computers were not fashionable yet, and there were not many video games except for a hand-held Pacman game that was usually being fought over. “It’s my turn! No it’s not! You’ve had it all day! Give that to your sister now!”

Pacman hand-held game

There were not a lot of organized activities at that time either and they had no neighbor children next door or down the street to occupy themselves with. Playing outside with each other was the only other option. That Saturday Morning Cartoons tape came in very handy all week-long. When Saturday morning rolled around the next week, I would shove the tape in the VCR and tape over the last weeks line-up.

I think the tape is still around here somewhere. It’s the one I keep hanging on to for some reason. I wonder how much I could get for that low-quality, much-used, loved-dearly VHS tape.

Cartoons aren’t what they used to be. I rarely catch one now I can relate to. We only picked up three channels back then. On a good day we could get four. That’s when we could tune into Sesame Street on PBS on the weekday mornings. There was Captain Kangaroo on one of our basic channels on the weekdays to keep them focused on staying out of my hair. I sound as though I parked them in front of the TV a lot! Really I didn’t, But sometimes you need some peace!

Mr. Green Jeans was my favorite!

For the three older girls, Terri, Kerri, and Amie, it was Smurfs, Fragle Rock, and Snorks on Saturday mornings. Evidently, it didn’t take much to entertain these three.

The Smurfs

Jessie remembers Alvin and the Chipmunks, Pee Wee’s Playhouse, The Muppet Babies, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I never could see what the big deal was about those turtles and with me being a turtle lover I question that today. Of course these were not your usual run-of-the-mill turtles!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I know this because I took a poll on our group text this morning. I received numerous cartoon titles, then the dialog morphed into their favorite breakfast cereals. That’s another story.

Jessie bought these for her kids this week! LOL!

Andrew was from a different generation and never had a Saturday Morning Cartoon tape. The world of technology and what was available had progressed quite rapidly and for the better by the ’90’s. He was tuned into Sesame Street, Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood, SpongeBob, and The Rugrats.

Rugrats

Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood was hardly a cartoon but he kept Andrews attention for hours as he sat glued to the TV. “Won’t you be my neighbor?”

Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood

Jessie, being only seven years older than Andrew, also loved Doug. She would watch it in the afternoons when she was in high school.

Doug

When I was young I watched Mighty Mouse, Superman, Looney Tunes, and Yogi Bear. Oh, and let’s not forget Hercules! Remember the ring?

Hercules – Hero of song and story!

So now that I’ve brought you on a trip down Memory Lane, what were your favorites and did you have a Saturday Morning cartoon tape?

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About Elle Knowles

Elle Knowles lives in the Florida Panhandle with her husband and off-at-college-most-of-the-time son. She has four daughters, one son, and eleven beautiful grandchildren. 'Crossing the Line' is her first novel. The sequel 'What Line' is a work in progress. Recently published is Coffee-Drunk Or Blind - a nonfiction story of homesteading in the Alaska wilderness with her parents and four siblings, told through letters by her mother and remembered accounts from the family.

I don’t remember much about my childhood cartoons. Saturday mornings were busy but I don’t remember with what. I do remember Kukla, Fran and Ollie on a Sunday morning. Guess I wasn’t a big TV person back then.

I loved Saturday mornings! We were allowed to get our own cereal (my older brothers must have helped me) and park ourselves in front of the TV. Classic Looney Toons, Flintstones, Jetsons, Underdog, Deputy Dawg, Rocky and Bullwinkle. Sigh. Such great stuff. And I definitely remember watching Captain Kangaroo and a local DC kids show called Wonderama. My fondest memory is that during the week when my mom was cooking dinner, I was allowed to sit on her bed and watch I Love Lucy. It came on at 6:00 and my dad always got home promptly at 6:30. It was my favorite time when he got home. I lost my dad when I was 9, so the association is very strong.